Oaty peanut butter cookies

We’re back from France. Mildly café au lait coloured in skin tone, a respectable amount of tanning for any factor 50 obsessive mother with an eye on Vitamin D intake. I don’t want to give the wrong impression, I don’t want to sound spoilt or in any way ungrateful, because really, I’m not. Here comes the but…

I can’t help but think everyone would have been happier at home. More toys, less being dragged around castles, less long distance drives with Thomas’ Misty Island Rescue songs resounding from the portable DVD player, less of me asking ‘so boys what’s the best part of the holiday?’ Less moaning about the heat from the kids, less ridiculous exclamations of ‘some children never go on holiday and all you can do is moan about missing your friends’ from me. Gosh, we sound a miserable lot.

So to be a bit more Pollyanna about it, perhaps I should count the blessings of the static caravan holiday to France. There was wine, loads of it – and red too. Tick. There was cheese, loads of it – and stinky too. Tick. There was sun, loads of it – and hot too. Tick. And there were lots of dresses with no waistband, so that I barely noticed my girth increasing as I swigged and nibbled away. Perfect. Plenty of things to be glad for.

These oaty peanut butter cookies are nigh on the perfect guilt free treat. No, they are not in any way ‘diet’ – I don’t really make low fat biscuits, I just eat less when I feel the need. But they are full of oats and peanut butter; two ingredients to be glad for I’d say. Low GI oats and high potassium peanut butter. Just ignore the butter, sugar and more sugar.

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Line 3 trays with non stick baking paper. Cream the butter and sugars together until light and creamy – about 4 minutes in a stand mixer with a flat beater or a little longer by hand. Add the egg and mix well with the flat beater or wooden spoon. Add all the other ingredients and mix until combined – don’t go crazy and mix for ages. You just want the ingredients to come together. Scoop walnut sized blobs onto the lined trays spacing at least 5cm between blobs as these cookies spread quite a lot. Bake for 8 – 12 minutes until browned and puffed up. When removed from the oven they will puff back down. If you like a brittle cookie bake until very well tanned. If you like a chewy centered cookie then bake until just blushed with tan. Cool on the trays before moving.

Made these last week with crunchy peanut butter (already had it in the cupboard! ) and they were delicious! everyone loves them and they are now on my husbands standing order of things I have to bake regularly!

Oh I am really pleased! Love it when an easy recipe becomes a favourite. x

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Holly Bell

I’m a mum of 3 boys, a cookbook writer and also a finalist on the 2011 Great British Bake Off.
I’ve decided to record the recipes I use, partly to save them somewhere and partly in case someone else might like to use them...
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